We had a very fun Goliath Grouper dive season!. Our sole focus this year was the M/V Castor, a 258 foot long wreck, off the coast of Boynton Beach, Florida. We went out with friends on the Explorer from Underwater Explorers in late August and September. Our boat Captain, Kevin Metz, coordinated excellent diver drops off the boat making it easy to find the wreck.
Goliath groupers milled around in groups at different parts of the Castor. Large and small bodied, light, dark or mottled colors, they were much more oblivious to us and interested in each other. We occasionally heard the thumping from their air sacs when we or another grouper was found to be bothersome. On one dive I was side to side with several groupers that didn’t seem to want to move from their chosen spots. Some comically rested their heads and bodies along parts of the structure. Perhaps to escape the swirling bait fish and chasing predatory snappers, jacks, etc. The undulating bait balls around the wrecks and groupers were fabulous to watch. The bait was so numerous on occasion that they were creating frustrating bioscatter for our images. Inevitably they would surge around the face or sometimes the entire body obstructing a clear shot. We enjoyed each dive and our adventurous companions, looking forward to next year’s aggregation season to do it all again!